I can summarise what I’m about to embark on in a brief paragraph which bodes well for focusing on the objective, the explanation of why will take considerably longer!

I am going to cycle from my front door in Watford to Spain, via The Netherlands, Germany and France, where I will base myself for a month or two to learn the lingo. At the end of November 2014 I will fly to Ushuaia at the very bottom of South America whereupon I will point my bike north and cycle to Alaska.

There we are, nice and neat, so easy to say, it is a plan.

It feels impossible, it sounds impossible, so much could go wrong, not least my knees (or other parts of my body). However if I break it down and step over the hurdles one by one, I will slowly but surely advance towards achieving it. I have been doing that for the last few months and doing what I can to make it possible for me to leave my front door.

The hardest thing to do in the world, no matter the task, is always to begin. Putting aside that I’ve mentally begun a long time ago, I physically begin on the 14th July 2014 when I cycle east towards the sun (sounds better than towards Harwich).

I’ll let you in to a secret. I’m shitting it.

That of course is part of the reason I’m doing it in the first place. I am one of those people who can’t go through life being content with being safe and well. I need to push out of my comfort zone to find the real juice of life, it’s only there that I find real enjoyment and marvel at the wonder of life.

I will not be blogging about how many miles I’ve covered, my average speed, elevation climbed, etc as I don’t think many people are actually that interested or at least can’t comprehend the data.

What I will attempt to do is write about what actually happens, the people I meet, the anecdotes, the story and what it does to me. I will also be doing my best to capture the trip in pictures as it’s a medium I enjoy and it reveals facets of the story that I may not notice myself.

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As for the furry dice, they are coming with me. A symbol of taking chances in life and trusting that things will land in your favour if you decide to take the road less travelled.

What an amazing challenge and experience you are going to have, completely agree that the hardest thing to do in life is to start these things. We can spend so much time in life just prograstinating! Best Wishes for your adventure and look forward to the updates!x

You must be mad mate, forget the injuries, strains and niggles with punctures and worn bearings. Watch some sky (National Geo) you are going to get eaten! If not eaten, squashed by a yokel in a mini moke on a mountain road!

That said, I’m impressed it’s a huge feat of endurance and discipline, pick a dammed good bike or you’ll regret it, then gel fill the tyres, they last longer so I’m told.

Hi Dave,
I speaka a little. Looking at language schools and/or work. Not expecting to be fluent but hope to be able to have a conversation. I’m going to fine tune that plan over the next couple of months!
Cheers
Iain